The Holy Boy

Description

A world judo champion arrives in a village where all the residents are on drugs. A drug that takes the form of hugs from a local boy (The Holy Boy). The local priest and the boy’s father have turned this into a kind of church ritual. Every day, a whole line of people waiting to get a hug forms up. The suffering literally give him no peace.

No one can explain this phenomenon. People just use it to cope with pain and grief. But lifting others out of deep depression and granting them a happy life isn’t the only thing this boy can do. He’s endowed with a few other abilities that very few know about.

The question is: will the former world judo champion become his new friend, and/or will he try to break this vicious cycle of child exploitation?

The most frequent search query related to this film goes something like: “The Holy Boy ending explained.” I didn’t get it either, but I also don’t think there’s any deep meaning behind it. In my opinion, it’s a clever or successful move to leave the viewer guessing, since the film itself, in my opinion, isn’t packed with mysteries, strong dramatic structure, or gore. Which is exactly the stuff I love. Therefore, in my opinion, The Holy Boy is mediocre. I emphasize: in my opinion.